Border entry fee sparks opposition

By Manuel Valdes
Associated Press

Published: Monday, May 27 2013 9:00 p.m. MDT

In this Thursday, May 23, 2013 photo, a local gas station advertises a free currency exchange in Blaine, Wash. In April 2013, in its 2014 fiscal year budget proposal, the Department of Homeland Security requested permission to study a fee at the nation's land border crossings. The request has sparked wide opposition among members of Congress from northern states, who vowed to stop it. A fee, they say, would hurt communities on the border that rely on people, goods and money moving between the U.S. and Canada. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) (Associated Press)

SEATTLE — By Michael Hill's estimation, 90 percent of the people pumping gas at his station just south of the U.S.-Canada border in Washington state are Canadians.

Gas north of the 49th parallel, he said, is about $1.30 per gallon more expensive than in the United States. But that's not the only product that Canadians seek in visits to Washington state: Beer, wine and milk are significantly cheaper (beer and wine alone are roughly half the price in the U.S.).

Add a strong Canadian dollar and the result is a key element of the economy in the towns of Whatcom County. For example, the town of Blaine, population just shy of 5,000, generates over $225,000 from a penny per gallon gas tax, which is about 30 percent of its street maintenance budget.

That's why Hill and others are troubled by the notion of charging a fee to enter the U.S. by land. Last month, in its 2014 fiscal year budget proposal, the Department of Homeland Security requested permission to study a fee at the nation's land border crossings.

In this Thursday, May 23, 2013 photo, cars from Canada line up to cross into the United States, in Blaine, Wash., at Peace Arch State Park. In April 2013, in its 2014 fiscal year budget proposal, the Department of Homeland Security requested permission to study a fee at the nation's land border crossings. The request has sparked wide opposition among members of Congress from northern states, who vowed to stop it. A fee, they say, would hurt communities on the border that rely on people, goods and money moving between the U.S. and Canada. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) (Associated Press)

"It's a deterrent," said Hill, whose station is fully stocked with wine and has a reader board that says "Thank you Canadians."

"They should be doing anything they can to get them down here to buy more," he added.

That lone request sparked wide opposition among members of Congress from northern states, who vowed to stop it. A fee, they say, would hurt communities on the border that rely on people, goods and money moving between the U.S. and Canada.

"The imposition of such a toll would act as a barrier to the greater economic integration that we seek, and is the absolute last thing we should be doing to grow our economy," stated a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano earlier this month signed by 18 Republican and Democratic House lawmakers.

Currently it costs nothing to enter the country by land. Air and sea crossings already have a fee of under $2, which are included in ticket prices.